Valentine’s Day Cookies – Sally’s Baking Habit

These adorned Valentine’s Day cookies resemble dialog coronary heart candies—so enjoyable for the vacation! My recipe for sugar cookies guarantees flavorful cookies with comfortable and thick facilities, barely crisp edges, and flat tops for adorning with royal icing. The dough comes along with 7–8 easy substances, and the cookies maintain their cookie cutter form within the oven.

To not toot my very own horn, however… I’ve completely *zero expertise* in terms of piping writing on cookies and desserts. Zero zip zilch. LOL. Pen and paper, nice! Piping frosting on cupcakes and flooding icing on cookies, completely manageable! However mix writing + piping, and I fully lose management of my hand.

Not too long ago, my gifted assistant Stephanie got here to my rescue, and helped me write on these dialog heart-inspired cookies. As a result of we simply can’t make Valentine’s Day cookies with out the enjoyable little sayings on prime!

Dialog Coronary heart Candies

In the event you aren’t aware of dialog coronary heart candies, they’re a Valentine’s Day staple right here within the U.S. They’re like little edible love notes! Pastel-colored, a little bit chalky-tasting, and completely iconic, dialog hearts have been round for over a century. Do you know the corporate that produces them comes up with a brand new theme every year, and creates new sayings to go together with that theme? The sayings are often candy or humorous, however may even be sassy or sarcastic!

However you don’t want to purchase a bag of dialog hearts to make at the moment’s recipe. You simply want a rolling pin, a heart-shaped cookie cutter, and a little bit inspiration for what to jot down on prime (I present some strategies under).

So A lot to Love About These Valentine’s Day Cookies

These lookalike (however tasteabetter) heart-shaped treats begin with my trusty recipe for sugar cookies. The cookies are comfortable and buttery with crisp edges. The dough holds its form splendidly within the oven. Sharp and exact; no misshapen hearts!

• Delicate, thick facilities with barely crisp edges
• Irresistible buttery vanilla taste
• Produced from easy substances
• Go away plain or taste with extracts
• Maintain form whereas baking
• Freeze superbly
• Simple-to-follow recipe utilized by newbie and skilled bakers alike

Reader Sharon commented: “I’ve made this recipe in all probability 50 occasions and I completely find it irresistible! It’s not too candy so whenever you add royal icing it makes it simply excellent. ★★★★★”

We’re utilizing royal icing for at the moment’s Valentine’s Day sugar cookie ornament, however you’ll be able to completely skip the writing and prime them with buttercream like we do for these shamrock cookies, or use this simple glaze cookie icing as a substitute.

Overview: The best way to Make Valentine’s Day Cookies

1. Make cookie dough. You solely want 7–8 substances. With so few substances, it’s essential that you just comply with the recipe carefully. Creamed butter and sugar present the bottom of the cookie dough. Egg is the cookie’s construction and vanilla extract provides taste. I nearly all the time add a contact of almond extract for extra taste and extremely suggest that you just strive it too! Flour is an apparent addition, baking powder provides carry, and salt balances the candy. By the best way, you’ll be able to create these Valentine’s Day cookies utilizing my chocolate sugar cookies too!
2. Divide in 2 items. Smaller sections of dough are simpler to roll out.
3. Roll out cookie dough. Roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. In case you have issue evenly rolling out dough, do this adjustable rolling pin. Such an excellent invention!
4. Chill rolled-out cookie dough. With out chilling, these cookie cutter sugar cookies received’t maintain their form. Chill the rolled-out cookie dough for at the least 2 hours and as much as 2 days.
5. Reduce into shapes. In the event you want strategies for cookie cutters, I like Ann Clark brand. (Not sponsored, only a real fan!) For the cookies pictured right here, I used the three.5-inch dimension from this set. You simply want to ensure your coronary heart cookie cutter is sufficiently big to provide you loads of area to pipe the writing on—I take into consideration 3 inches is sweet. You need to use the identical cookie cutter for these raspberry sugar cookies, too.
6. Bake & cool. Relying on dimension, the cookies take about 12 minutes.
7. Enhance. Extra on the icing under.

The Trick Is the Order of Steps

Discover how I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it within the fridge? That’s my signature sugar cookie trick!

Let me clarify why I do that. Similar to whenever you’re making chocolate chip cookies, to forestall the cookies from over-spreading, the cookie dough should chill within the fridge. Roll out the dough proper after you put together it, then chill the rolled-out dough. (At this level the dough is just too comfortable to chop into shapes.) Don’t chill the cookie dough after which attempt to roll it out as a result of it will likely be too chilly and tough to work with. I divide the dough in half earlier than rolling it out and extremely suggest you do the identical. Smaller sections of dough are merely extra manageable.

Right here’s one other trick! Roll out the cookie dough instantly on silicone baking mats or parchment paper sheets so you’ll be able to simply switch it to the fridge. Decide the entire thing up, set it on a baking sheet, and place it within the fridge. In the event you don’t have sufficient room for two baking sheets in your fridge, you’ll be able to stack the items of rolled-out dough on prime of one another (with parchment or baking mat in between).

Royal Icing Is Finest for Writing on Cookies

This royal icing is my most well-liked sugar cookie icing as a result of it’s simple to make use of, dries in a pair hours, and doesn’t have a texture akin to hardened cement. (It’s really on the softer aspect!)

I make the royal icing with meringue powder. Meringue powder takes the place of liquid uncooked egg whites, which is present in conventional royal icing recipes. It eliminates the necessity for contemporary eggs, however nonetheless offers the identical consistency. Yow will discover meringue powder in some baking aisles, most craft shops with a baking part, or shop for meringue powder online.

The trickiest half is touchdown on the proper royal icing consistency. My royal icing video is included within the written recipe under, so use that to assist information you.

Instruments You Want for Adorning These Coronary heart Sugar Cookies

1. Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit: In my expertise, that is the BEST coloring for royal icing. The colour is wealthy and vivid. You solely want a teeny drip for the pastel colours in at the moment’s cookies. And for darker colours, 1 small drop. So these colours will final you a really very long time! I used the yellow, deep pink, violet, inexperienced, and orange; and crimson for the writing.
2. Disposable or reusable piping bags.
3. Coupler(s): In the event you solely have 1 piping tip and wish to enhance with a number of colours of icing, hold the tip on the surface of the bag through the use of a coupler so you’ll be able to simply switch the piping tip to different baggage of coloured icing.
4. Round Icing Tip #4: For piping the royal icing on prime of every cookie (outlining and flooding).
5. Round Icing Tip #2: For piping the writing on prime of the iced cookies.

I caught with the shortest doable sayings and phrases as a result of, nicely… you realize my battle. Some *quick* dialog coronary heart textual content inspiration:

• BFF
• Love
• Kiss
• Hug
• XOXO
• Candy
• Wink
• Form
• Me & U
• Cute

Have enjoyable with it, and don’t fear about making them look excellent. You possibly can even skip the writing for plain pastel Valentine’s Day cookies. Your Valentine will respect your efforts it doesn’t matter what. 😉

Extra Valentine’s Day Desserts

See much more Valentine’s Day dessert recipes.

Print

Valentine’s Day Cookies

• 
  Writer: Sally
• 
  Prep Time: 2 hours
• 
  Prepare dinner Time: 12 minutes
• 
  Complete Time: 6 hours (contains icing setting)
• 
  Yield: 20 3.5-inch cookies
• 
  Class: Cookies
• 
  Methodology: Baking
• 
  Delicacies: American

---

Description

These adorned Valentine’s Day coronary heart sugar cookies resemble dialog coronary heart candies—so enjoyable for the vacation! I embody the total set of particular instruments and gear I exploit within the Notes under.

---

---

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt collectively in a medium bowl. Put aside.
2. In a big bowl utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar collectively on excessive pace till fully easy and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if utilizing) and beat on excessive pace till mixed, about 1 minute. Scrape down the perimeters and up the underside of the bowl and beat once more as wanted to mix.
3. Add the dry substances to the moist substances and blend on low till mixed. Dough might be comparatively comfortable. If the dough appears too comfortable and sticky for rolling, add 1 extra Tablespoon of flour.
4. Divide the dough into 2 equal elements. Place every portion onto a bit of evenly floured parchment paper or a evenly floured silicone baking mat. With a evenly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. Use extra flour if the dough appears too sticky. The rolled-out dough could be any form, so long as it’s evenly 1/4-inch thick.
5. Flippantly mud one of many rolled-out doughs with flour. Place a bit of parchment on prime. (This prevents sticking.) Place the 2nd rolled-out dough on prime. Cowl with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, then refrigerate for at the least 2 hours and as much as 2 days.
6. As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2–3 massive baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Rigorously take away the highest dough piece from the fridge. If it’s sticking to the underside, run your hand beneath it to assist take away it. Utilizing a heart cookie cutter (pictured cookies use the three.5-inch dimension), minimize the dough into hearts. Re-roll the remaining dough and proceed slicing till all is used. Repeat with 2nd piece of dough. (Be aware: It might not appear to be quite a lot of dough, however you get quite a lot of cookies from the dough scraps you re-roll.)
7. Prepare cookies on baking sheets 3 inches aside. Bake for 11–12 minutes or till evenly browned across the edges. In case your oven has scorching spots, rotate the baking sheets midway by bake time. Permit cookies to chill on the baking sheets for five minutes, then switch to a wire rack to chill fully earlier than adorning.
8. Make the icing: I’ve a video for the best way to make royal icing under. Use that as your information for this step. Mix sifted confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 9 Tablespoons of water in a big bowl. Utilizing a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat icing substances collectively on excessive pace for 1.5–2 minutes. When lifting the whisk up off the icing, the icing ought to drizzle down and easy out inside 5–10 seconds. If it’s too thick, beat in additional water 1 Tablespoon at a time. I often want 10 Tablespoons, however on notably dry days, I’ll use as much as 12–14 Tablespoons. Remember the fact that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it turns into. In case your royal icing is just too skinny, simply hold beating it to introduce extra air OR you’ll be able to add extra sifted confectioners’ sugar. Yields about 3 cups of icing.
9. Separate icing into 6 totally different bowls. (Or fewer bowls, relying what number of colours you need.) Stir in 1 tiny drop of the next colours into every bowl, 1 colour per bowl: pink, violet, inexperienced, yellow, and orange. The sixth bowl is for the writing. For that, stir in 2–3 drops of crimson. You received’t use the crimson icing for a pair hours after the bottom icing units, so place a moist paper towel instantly on the floor of it. This prevents it from hardening.
10. Spoon or pour the pastel icings into piping baggage (disposable or reusable) fitted with round icing tip #4. In the event you solely have 1 tip and wish to enhance with a number of colours of icing, hold the tip on the surface of the bag through the use of a coupler so you’ll be able to simply switch the piping tip to different baggage of coloured icing. Enhance cookies with coloured icing by piping a border across the edges after which filling it. Let the icing-covered cookies principally set, uncovered, for at the least 2 hours earlier than including writing.
11. Spoon or pour the crimson icing right into a piping bag (disposable or reusable) fitted with round icing tip #2. Write desired phrases/messages on the cookies (concepts/strategies listed within the put up above!). Writing icing will set inside 2–3 hours.
12. Embellished or plain cookies keep contemporary coated at room temperature for five days or within the fridge for as much as 10 days.

Notes

1. Freezing Directions: Plain or adorned sugar cookies freeze nicely as much as 3 months. Look ahead to the icing to set fully earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You too can freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough by step 3, divide in half, flatten each halves right into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap every in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disks within the fridge, then convey to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 4, then chill rolled-out dough within the fridge for 45–60 minutes earlier than slicing into shapes and baking.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or this Adjustable Rolling Pin | Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter | Americolor Soft Gel Paste Color Kit | Disposable or Reusable Piping Bags | Couplers | Meringue Powder | Wilton Tip #4 | Wilton Tip #2
3. Simple Glaze Icing: As a substitute of this royal icing, you should use my simple cookie icing if that’s simpler for you. Nevertheless, I discover it almost unattainable to jot down with that icing as a result of it isn’t secure like royal icing.
4. Make sure to try my prime 5 cookie baking suggestions, my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments, and right here’s one of the best ways to ship cookies!

Key phrases: valentine’s day cookies, coronary heart sugar cookies